If you've ever guzzled strawberry or raspberry flavoured drinks, slurped vanilla ice cream, enjoyed an alcoholic beverage or two or chomped on chewing gum, chances are are you'll have ingested castoreum, a food additive made from the secretions of glands found near the anuses of beavers.

Even worse, it seems beavers' bum goo is just one of many unappetising ingredients many of us don't realise are in our foods, according to a TV network.

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Alex Kann from Community Channel uncovered some of these food industry nasties as part of the channel’s Real Food Revolution season this month, reports Mirror Online

Here are nine of the grossest...

1. Beaver anal gland secretions

Secretions from glands near this cute beaver's anus could be in your food

Castoreum is an additive made from the secretions of glands near the anus of beavers. They use it to mark their territory and attract a mate: we use it as a sweet vanilla, strawberry and raspberry flavouring in drinks and sweets.

You wouldn’t know it’s there as it is allowed to be listed as ‘natural flavouring’ on ingredients lists.

2. Hair

L-Cysteine is an amino acid - the building blocks of your hair.

But it's also used to extend the shelf life of many bread-based products... including your Friday night pizza.

This real stomach churner is often obtained from hog hair and duck feathers, but watch out next time you holiday in the US - there it is often made from human hair. Luckily for us, this practice was banned by the EU.

Hair pizza, anybody? (Image: Pixabay)

Research carried out by the Vegetarian Resource Group found that McDonalds used L-Cystein made from duck feathers in some of their products, as did Dunkin Donuts.

What it's found in: Pizza, bread-based products, fast food

3. Antifreeze

Used to stop fat clumping together in your trusty ready-made cake mix, propylene glycol has another handy use – as the key ingredient in antifreeze.

And don’t be tempted to let your pet dog lick the bowl, either. It can be fatally toxic to some animals.

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Alex Kann, from Community Channel, said: "Most of us know we could improve our diets, and while we don’t all have time to grow our own vegetables or splash out on expensive supermarket organic ranges, we should at least be able to name the foods we’re eating.”

Still peckish? The month-long Real Food Revolution season will help you take back control over the food you eat. Find out more on the Community Channel website .